Georgia’s nonprofit, business and educational communities have scrambled to provide relief to the Himalayan nation of Nepal, where the death toll from this week’s 7.8 earthquake has surpassed 6,200 and thousands remain missing.
MAP International, a Brunswick-based charity which delivers drugs in disaster zones and impoverished communities worldwide, announced Thursday that it had sent a second shipment of antibiotics, wound care items and rehydration salts to the country. The second shipment was slated to arrive May 1, providing enough to treat 10,000 people for 90 days working with partners on the ground.
An estimated 14,000 people have been injured in the quake, with more than 3 million displaced, according to U.N. estimates. Fearful of aftershocks and uncertain about the structural integrity of their homes, many slept outside in the immediate aftermath of the quake.
Atlanta-based CARE has sent emergency response personnel from all over the world to Nepal. The humanitarian organization was planning measures to help 75,000 people with temporary shelter, meals, water purification and toilets.
CARE’s leaders on the ground said in a statement that hospitals are overrun and that medical supplies are in high demand. Decatur-based MedShare, which distributes surplus medical supplies overseas, received $250,000 from Hospitals Corporation of America to mobilize a shipment to Nepal as part of a larger gift $500,000 gift from the company, which also pledged to match employee contributions up to the same amount.
Nepalese student associations at Georgia universities have also sounded the call for assistance, with the University of Georgia’s raising money through a GoFundMe campaign that has raised $6,000 to date.
On Thursday night, Georgia State University’s Nepali student association held a candlelight vigil. GSU law professor Anne Emanuel, whose husband was trekking in Nepal during the earthquake and was found safe, spoke during the vigil.
USAID has committed $10 million in aid from its Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and is contributing $2.5 million to the U.N. World Food Program for relief.
Companies are also getting in on the act. Coca-Cola Co., which has two bottling plants in Kathmandu and Bharatpur, suspended operations to ensure the safety of the facilities. None of Coke’s 500 Nepalese workers were hurt. The company also immediately donated 30,000 cases of drinking water and $1 million to the American Red Cross through its foundation.
The UPS Foundation has donated $500,000 in supplies and logistical support, including a charter flight from a humanitarian logistics hub in Dubai and contributions to the U.N. High Commission on Refugees that will purchase food and shelter for those affected by the quake.
Surya Inc., an India-based company which makes rugs and home goods, has donated $20,000 to the American Red Cross to support relief efforts. The company, which operates a facility in Calhoun, Ga., doesn’t employ weavers in Nepal, but it does have multiple Nepalese employees in Georgia.
“We can only imagine the challenges and uncertainty that lie ahead and wanted to reach out in some small way to help those affected begin the road to recovery. We hope that our customers and vendor partners will also consider donating or helping in any way that they can,” said Satya Tiwari, Surya’s president, in a release.
Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn had planned to visit Nepal in November for their annual work project with Habitat for Humanity. After the disaster struck, the Atlanta-based organization said its Nepal operation was working with local partners to assemble emergency shelter kits and that it will be “monitoring the situation closely” to see how the Carters’ trip will be affected. The organization has set a goal of building 100,000 homes in Nepal by 2016.
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